Aldrich aiming for U.S. Senate
Sarah Day — Staff WriterArticle Photos
BLUE EARTH - He's just your average guy. He's no celebrity. He hasn't worked his way up the political scale. He's neither Democrat nor Republican.
He is Charles Aldrich, and he's running for the U.S. Senate as a Libertarian.
Aldrich, who lives in Alden and works in Blue Earth, tried to run a few years ago, but couldn't get on the ballot. In order to be on the ballot, he needed 2,000 signatures. The last time, enough signatures were discounted that he ended up about 30 signatures short.
That did not stop Aldrich's passion for better government. He's trying again, and this time he will be on the ballot. He has about 2,150 signatures - more than enough.
"I don't like what's going on in Washington," Aldrich said on why he's running. "They're spending too much of the taxpayers' money on fruitless endeavors and some counterproductive endeavors."
One of those issues is drilling for domestic oil. Aldrich says government is spending too much time talking about it, and not acting quickly enough. He does not believe corn-based ethanol makes sense.
"It's an energy loss," he said. "It takes more energy to make ethanol from corn than what you get out of it. So subsidies for that are harmful to the economy and to the environment. The taxes they put on renewable fuels is counterproductive, because if they want people to use the fuels, they need to find the cheapest way to get the fuel to the consumer. And taking the taxes off is a good start."
Aldrich also would like to see the government stop trying to fix Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He'd rather let the private industry take them over. He said the government should not be competing with companies.
"One of the things that (the government) should have done that they didn't do is set it up so that only real estate investors can get adjustable rate mortgages," Aldrich said. "Because what happens is, once the initial term expires, it adjusts, and normal homeowners who are planning on being there for 20 or 30 years don't have the capability to fluctuate with the market."
He said someone who is a real estate investor is used to fluctuating markets, so they can deal with an adjustable rate mortgage.
"It's one of those where you don't give dynamite to kids," Aldrich said. "It's just not a good idea."
Aldrich also disagrees with the occupation of Iraq.
Once the leaders of Iraq ask the United States to leave, it should, he said, adding that those leaders have asked the U.S. to leave.
"One of the things that is said is, 'If we don't fight them over there, we'll fight them over here,'" he said. "The same thing was said about Vietnam and now we're trading with them."
When it comes to education, Aldrich says the federal government should be restricted to acting within the Constitution, which does not mention education. Education responsibilities should be given back to the states, he said, adding that the cost of education has risen more than it should because of the federal government.
In a nutshell, Aldrich said people should vote for him because the current U.S. Congress has an approval rating of less than 10 percent.
"If they're going to vote for either a Democrat or a Republican they're going to get the same thing that they've been getting," he said. "And if they really want a change, they should vote for me because I have a different way of looking at the needs of the people than throwing the taxpayers' money at problems. And I think the less government involvement is better."
Aldrich, who has just started campaigning, will make an appearance at the State Fair. After that, he plans to take time off from work at Aerospace in Blue Earth, where he's a manufacturing engineer, to visit with citizens in towns across the state.
"I'll talk to the local folks about what they want in somebody going to the U.S. Senate," he said.
Aldrich has a bachelor of science in industrial engineering, and served in the Marines for four years as an aviation electronics engineer.
He also was the volunteer assistant manager for Bishop's Storehouse, a food shelf in Apple Valley.
Aldrich has three children, all living in the region. He is, as he puts it, "currently unattached."
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